Little Wonders
by Paxie Amor
Summary: **Marvel Cinematic Universe** All of my regrets will wash away somehow, but I can not forget the way I feel right now…
1. Never Didn't Not

He wasn't answering his phone. That was enough to worry Steve Rogers out of his mind, because Tony never didn't answer his phone. The out of mind worry was enough for Steve to cancel the rest of his appointments in New York and fly back to Malibu—he gets Thor to fly him because it's a hell of a lot faster than taking a commercial flight—and is placed down on the doorstep. Steve waves to Thor, who flies away with a smile. He's a bit strange, Steve decides, then heads inside to look for Tony.

"Welcome home, Captain Rogers," JARVIS said as cheerfully as a computerized voice could sound. "Miss Potts is at Stark Enterprises and Mr. Stark has stepped out."

"Thanks, JARVIS," Steve replied. "You know what time he stepped out?"

"Around noon, Captain. Something about walking down to get the mail." Steve thought about this for a moment.

"He never walks to get the mail."

"Which is likely why he seemed so pleased with himself." Steve decided he couldn't argue with that and looked at the clock. It was 5pm; he had texted Tony shortly after 3pm in New York, which would have been about the time he'd gone to get the mail… he'd been missing for at least five hours.

"Did you alert anyone when he didn't come right back?" he asked. It was silent for a moment. "JARVIS?"

"You do realize how short of an attention span Mr. Stark has regarding things that are not advanced robotics, yes?"

"You assumed he got distracted and just kept walking."

"I did, Sir." While he was a great butler, Steve decided that JARVIS was not the best body guard. On the other hand, he couldn't honestly say he wouldn't have assumed the same thing.

"Alright," Steve replied, heading for the front door. "I'll have a look around for him."

"Very good, sir."

Steve walks down the driveway and hopes that maybe, just maybe, that big idiot he loves so much managed to stumble and twist his ankle and is just sitting there, waiting for someone to come save him. Or he was trying to build a robot to carry him back to the house out of the mailbox. Steve decides he is not trained for dealing with Tony Stark and wonders how he hasn't lost his mind.

It's then that he sees Tony's phone lying on the ground. When he gets closer, he notices blood. Not just drops; a small pool is a foot or so from the phone. From there, Steve sees the drag marks from Tony's feet, the tire tracks and skid marks from the getaway car… the text Tony was sending to him before this happened.

Walking to get the mail. Miss you alrea

This, Steve decided, he was trained for.


	2. Situation Normal: Tony's Been Kidnapped

Hi there! Paxie here :D If you haven't already done so, please go read the Tony/Steve short stories I have posted, as one of them is referenced here and I don't want you to be confused. I'm not telling you which one to read, because I'm evil on that and the attention whore in me hopes at least one of you will leave a review. Thank you!

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><p>The day had started out so normal.<p>

Steve had left early that morning because he had to go take care of some stuff in New York. Tony said he would come out in a day or two and they could make a vacation of it and Steve was genuinely happy with the idea. Pepper wasn't going to like the idea, but that's why he didn't plan on telling her anything until _after_ he got to New York. He'd buy her some chocolates while he was there. He couldn't remember the name of the ones she really liked, but Steve would know. He always remembered stuff like that.

So, now Steve was gone and Tony was bored and decided that he was not going to make Happy come get him and drive him down to the mailbox. No. He was going to walk down and walk back. That was normal, right? Steve said he had to work on being more normal and he would be really proud to see Tony making the effort. So, that's why he walks down towards the mailbox by himself; no Happy, no armor, just Tony and his phone, which he is using to text Steve who has mastered the art of texting and even uses complete sentences and proper grammar…

And that is why when something hits him on the back of the head when he's halfway down his obnoxiously long driveway, Tony is all alone and no one is there to stop him from being taken away. His phone would likely have been stolen if he actually had neighbors to steal such things. But, since he didn't have neighbors to steal the phone he dropped when he was kidnapped, that phone was going to be the only thing to tell anyone that he was actually in trouble and didn't just wander off after seeing something shiny. Provided the battery didn't die and everyone didn't assume he threw it in anger, as he's been known to do. In Steve's words, at least he didn't throw it _at_ anyone.

That was some time ago, Tony figures. He's now strapped down to a table in what appears to be a laboratory taken right out of a James Bond movie. It took every ounce of his considerably low will power not to ask "Do you expect me to talk?" Mostly out of fear that the reply would be "No, Mr. Stark, I expect you to die!"

It doesn't take him long to realize that the equipment is for genetic experiments. This worries him slightly, as genetics is something he hasn't done any serious work in. He's dabbled in it slightly and even thought of cloning himself once or twice, but Pepper said she'd kill him if he tried. Which wouldn't be a problem if he was successful, but he wasn't willing to take that chance; he was only about 75 percent sure Pepper wouldn't actually kill him and those odds just weren't good enough…

His thoughts are interrupted by someone else entering the lab. He looks over at the door and sees a man walking towards him. The way he walks says military; that assumption is backed up by the uniform he wore. The style was German, ceremonial dress. The color was black. The insignia on his left shoulder was red; a skull with six tentacles coming out of the mouth. _HYDRA._

"Mr. Tony Stark of S.H.I.E.L.D," he says. His voice is surprisingly American, which makes Tony feel like a racist ass. He rationalizes it; honestly, who _wouldn't_ automatically assume a member of HYDRA to be German? It doesn't help much.

"You know I'm more of a consultant than an actual member, right?" Tony asks, as if this will somehow help his case. "I don't have keys to the Super Secret Clubhouse or anything. They haven't even shown me the handshake yet." Soldier Boy chuckled. He doesn't have a name tag on his uniform; Tony decides to call him Jerry.

"We don't require your keys, Mr. Stark," Jerry said, walking over to a table and picking up a rather large and slightly intimidating syringe. "We have something else in mind."

"Do you?" Tony asked, his gaze locked on the needle heading for his left arm. "If you needed a blood sample, you could have called the Red Cro-" Tony let out a yell as the needle was jammed into his arm. Struggling only made it hurt worse; he could only watch as the syringe was filled and hope that needle wasn't last used by a crack head (He didn't bother hoping it was sterile). "Are you planning on leaving any in me?"

"I won't be killing you that way, Mr. Stark," came the cold reply. Jerry picked up a small bottle from a table and held it up for Tony to see. "Do you know what this is, Mr. Stark?" Tony tilted his head slightly.

"It's a hair," he said. "In a bottle. It's a very pretty. You must be so proud."

"We obtained it a few weeks ago," Jerry told him. He removed the hair from the bottle with a pair of tweezers and placed it into the machine, along with some of Tony's blood from the syringe. Tony watched as the thing did stuff. It was very technical and he was pissed that he didn't understand it. "It belongs to your friend, Captain Rogers."

"Good for you," Tony replied, hoping his sarcasm was hiding the curiosity in his voice. "You found out he cuts his hair and it's not actually just stuck at that length."

"Did you think your recent kidnapping was _merely_ to kill you?" Tony looked away from the machine and straight into the soldier's eyes. He remembered the kidnapping, the beating, the bomb… it had exploded mere seconds after Steve got him out, it was a wonder they survived… or was it?

"You guys set that up?" Tony asked, realizing what a stupid question it was just after. Jerry nodded.

"If we would have directly after Captain Rogers, someone would have suspected something." He grinned. "But kidnapping his lover, the bomb going off…"

"You planted a crime scene tech." Tony remembered the attractive redhead who ran a comb through Steve's hair under the pretense of gathering evidence. "So you want Steve's hair for what? DNA?"

"What else?"

"And you couldn't get mine then, because?" Jerry smiled. Actually smiled; it wasn't the typical super creepy "I am going to kill you and enjoy it" smile. It was an honest to god smile and that… that was actually creepier than anything.

"Who else would enjoy this more than you, Mr. Stark?" Jerry asked, waving his hand to indicate the contents of the lab. "You, who all your life have had to be in the shadow of the man who created you." Before Tony can ask what the hell that has to do with _anything_, something goes "Ding!"

"Congrats," Tony said flatly. "Your overly large microwave is done." Jerry just chuckled and stepped over to a curtain. Tony hadn't noticed the curtain before, which bugged him slightly. Jerry pulled back the curtain, revealing a large glass cylinder; inside was a child, female, couldn't be older than five years old…

"Behold, Mr. Stark," Jerry said smugly. "The biological child of Iron Man and Captain America."


	3. Daughter

Tony could hear Jerry—he'd have to learn his real name someday—going on and on about they science behind the child's creation… normally, this would be the kind of thing Tony would love to hear about, but he wasn't listening to any of it. He was too busy looking at the child that was biologically his.

She was beautiful; she had his hair, short and black. Her eyes were closed; Jerry had (possibly) said that she was currently in some sort of coma, that it was helping her absorb the DNA and finish the creation process. The shape of her eyes reminded him of Steve and it wouldn't surprise him if they were the same color. This was not how he expected to be informed that he had offspring…

"Of course, this one will be destroyed." Jerry's words jerked Tony from his thoughts, prompting him to glare at the soldier.

"Come again?" Tony asked, doing his best to keep his temper in check. "You're going to do what?"

"She's a failure," Jerry stated. "She was supposed to be older. Taller. Stronger. Male. She will be destroyed and we will try again until we get it right." Tony's eyes narrowed.

"Sorry, was that your DNA mixed in there? I don't think so."

"Doesn't matter what you think, Stark. We have enough samples from Rogers to make as many as we like. And of course, we have you here for when we require them from you." He smirked. "But, I am a reasonable man, Mr. Stark. I'll let you have tonight with your 'daughter'. Tomorrow, however, she will be destroyed." Tony waited until he left the room to struggle with his binds. What the hell were these straps made of? He could barely breathe, let alone move enough to get free. He had until tomorrow to get free, to get out of there… to get her out of there.

He heard pounding. Frantic, terrified pounding. He looked back over to the cylinder; she was awake. He had been right, her eyes looked just like Steve's. Right now, they were wide and full of fear… and tears. She was crying as she pounded on the walls of her glass prison. It hurt… it literally hurt Tony to see her like that.

He had never been one for attachments; they took a long time to develop and were even harder to maintain. He can count the people he's attached to on one hand: Steve, Pepper and Rhodey… and now, there was her. It was ridiculous, to feel attached to her already. She… some would say she wasn't a real person. Those would be the idiots who didn't have their genetic coding hijacked and put into the creation of a beautiful, terrified little girl.

"It's okay…" he calls out. It's the only thing he can think of saying to her. And apparently, it's the right thing to say, because she looks right at him. Her face, while still scared, shows signs of confusion as she looks at him… no, she doesn't just look at him. She's studying him. After a moment, her eyes widen. It's not out of fear though, Tony realizes. It's a look of recognition, a look that quite plainly says "Holy crap, I know you". She looks around at the cylinder again before backing up against the far wall. A second later, she has somehow thrown herself straight through.

She laid on the floor for a moment or two; Tony doesn't realize he's holding his breath until he starts feeling light headed. To his relief, she pushes herself up, shaking bits of glass out of her hair. She looks up at him, smiling a little. There were a few cuts on her face from her breakout, but they were already healing. HYDRA had assumed that using Steve's Captain America DNA would give their clones all of his abilities. They were right… if HYDRA was able to create more of her, the world would be in serious trouble…

Tony feels the strap across his chest loosen, followed by the ones on his hips, legs, wrists and ankles. She's standing next to the table, obviously very proud that she was able to set him free. He smiles at her, carefully ruffling her hair.

"Good work, kiddo," he praises her. "Let's find a way out of here."

Tony decides the second thing that has to be done is the destruction of the entire HYDRA base. There will be nothing left, if he can help it, including but not limited to his and Steve's DNA samples. The first thing that has to be done is that his daughter needs some sort of clothing. She's not naked, thankfully; she is, however, wearing some sort of strange bikini and Tony doesn't like the looks of it at all. He digs through a few drawers in a bureau and finds a pair of adult small sweat pants with a matching sweatshirt. He mentally face-palms; the sweatshirt reads "I HYDRA". He hands the clothes to her anyway, as it's better than nothing. She looks at the shirt and pants for a moment, then at Tony. The look on her face is clear: "How does this work?" Tony just smiled and helped her get dressed; the clothes were much too big, but they would have to do until they got out. But how would they do that…

He must look sad, because he hears a soft whimper and feels her arms wrap around him; she doesn't understand how clothes work, but clearly understands hugs. He's not sure what to make of that, beyond the fact it's completely adorable.

"It's going to be okay, kiddo," he says again. He's not sure who he's trying to assure more, her or himself. Either way, she smiles and that's good enough for him. He picks her up and shows her how to lock her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist so that his arms are free to fight if he needs to. He wishes he had Steve's shield, that would make this so much easier… Steve. How was Steve going to react to a daughter? Steve loved kids and Tony knew that; he spent hours, sometimes days volunteering at a community center near his old neighborhood. He'd come home exhausted, but happy… that was different than having a child…

The silence around them was shattered by explosions and Tony couldn't help smiling; he'd know the sound of his team invading anywhere. There was another sound, however, one that didn't make him as happy; the little one crying. Tony could feel her shivering against him, burying her face in the back of his shoulder… which was getting wet. She was crying again.

"Oh, kiddo," he said, moving her to his chest so he could hold her properly. He smoothed her hair, hugging her close. "It's all right, kiddo," he promised. "I think your Pop is just saying hi to the bad guys." She looked at him, her face confused again.

"H…h… Hiiiii?" Her voice was adorable. Tony normally didn't like adorable things, but he was slowly getting used to them. He realized this was the first time she'd spoken… her first word. His heart may have melted.

"Hi, kiddo…" The door to the lab flew open suddenly, prompting Tony to turn away from it, shielding the child from whatever was about to burst in.

"Tony!"

"Steve!" Tony turned around; Steve, decked out in his Captain America armor, was standing in the doorway, grinning like a mad man.

"You alright?" he asked, sounding like a huge weight had been lifted from his chest. "We were starting to think we hit the wrong place…" Tony was completely facing him now, still holding the girl in his arms. "Who… who is that?" Tony took a deep breath, letting it out slow.

"Steve, I'd like you to meet our daughter."


End file.
